Golf club



Sept. 1, 1931. RHROBINS 1321,191

' fly] GOLF CLUB Filed April 22, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet l p 1, 1931- Y R. H. ROBINSON 1 821-191 GOLF CLUB I Filed April 22, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Rcy ff 5052226077 .Fatented S e pt.

'NETED is'ra'res PATENT err-ice;

Roy H. 30mm, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS GOLF Application filed April 22,

My invention relates ,to' golf clubs and shafts therefor, or like game clubs, and has for its primary object to provide apractical, durable, and economical construction of great strength-within the range of weight allowed therefor, and. adapted to replace the i wood and tubular meta-I constructions for shafts, with or without the wooden heads,

and to overcome the objections to such constructions.

r Further objects of the invention are to reduce "the wind resistance; toprovide a novel composite wire frame or truss reinforcement construction for golf clubs or shaftsfor use with or without plastic formation in which thesame is embedded and with a'separate or integral head; to provide increased strength in the shaft over the wooden r or tubular metal shafts; to eliminate the use of wood, especially in the shaft, and the use of tubular metal, such'as tapered steel tubing, as well as to permit a wide range of minute variations in the stiffness of flexibility of the shafts and shanks thereof to suitthe most exacting desires or requirements of the different players of golfers, and in general to provide an improved article of the character described.

The many other objects and advantages will be better understood by reference to the followingspe'cification when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating certain selected embodiments of the invention, in which Fig. 1 is an elevation of a golf club embodying a plastic composite construction, the same being shownpartly broken away and in section to more clearly illustrate the same.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View showing a modified construction with a skeletonor open trus's frame reinforcement and other features. l

Fig. 3', is afragmentary elevation partly broken away and in section toshow another form of reinforcing construction.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevation in which the construction shown in Fig. 1 is provided with a-reinforcement.

Fig. 5 is an elevation, partly in,sec'tion, of a golf club with a'ske'leton or open frame CLUB 1926. Serial No.103,773.

shaft construction which .maybe employed- Fig. 6 1s a fragmentary sectionalelevation showing another form of reinforcement. I Fig-a7 is a' fragmentary sectional view showing a modified form of composite structure and reinforcement.

Fig. 8 is a sectional perspective view of a sltructure somewhat'similar to that shown in ig. 3. v

Figs. 9 to 17 inclusive are transverse sections of modified forms of shaft construction and rein forcing means therefor, and

Fig. 18 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a modified construction for anchoringa' shaftto the head of the club.

Heretofore, golf clubs have been constructed with wood or metal heads and with wood or tubular metal shafts in theform of tapered steel tubing. Considerable difiiculty has been experienced for a number of years in securing suitable wood for the shafts which would not readily splinter or crack.- In addition, wood has many limitations in strength and flexibility, as well as inability to stand up under the strains and rough usage to which the same is subjected in play, with the result that shafts are quite frequently broken and more or less result in lack-of confidence in the player as' to the ability of the 'wood to stand up in use. This has led to the construction of the shafts of tapered steel tubing, which, however, lack some of the essential characteristics of the wooden shafts in distinguished from irons, the ability of giving the proper follow-through.

1 My present construction for golf clubs and particularly the shafts thereof,- may' b e' constructed to have all of the advantages'of the v Wooden shafts in addition to overcoming the disadvantages of both the wooden and .tubu' lar steel shafts and providing independent or integral heads and increased strength, as

well as resulting in a club which can be given the required resiliency or flexibility to suit the most exacting requirements of different torsional qualities owing to the fact that steel wire or stripsmay be produced of considerably higher tensileistre'ngth and quality than golfers and yet economically produced One of-the features of the improved golf club or shaft construction is the employment of a tough fibrous or plastic material of high tensile and compressive strength inaddition to being light in weight, waterproof, and unaffected by the elements, or by hot water or such solvents as alcohol, acetone, benzine,-turpentine, etc., in addition to having all of the good properties of vulcanized fiber, as well as being a nonconductor or dielectric. For this 1 purpose, the molded material is preferably waterproof so as not to warp from climatic conditions and may be of Bakelite or, preferably, the combination of Bakelite'witha fiber or textile base such as condensite-celoron, a

product of phenol and formaldehyde, which may bedescribed as a vulcanized fiber thoroughly impregnated with condensite and hardened by heating. This material has a tensile strength from 8800to 11000 pounds per square inch and a compressive strength of from- 26000 to 45.000 pounds per square inch, but I desire to have it understood that any .other suitable material possessing the same Y which the same is embedded in some suitable :plastic material or mastic such as bakelite,

celoron-condensite, or fiber somewhat of the pe ab'ove referred to, in which event the high tensile strength of the truss metal framing of steel wire .or stri s so embedded is supplemented by, the igh compression v strength of the mastic or fibrous materiali zed fiber such gearsand which. is of great-durability and strength ispreferablyof that type having a vulcanized woven'fabric base which is hydrolized toshrinkthe'fabric into a dense mass which supplemented by the -relatively high tensile of. the latter. The plastic material imparts to itthe. necessary strength, toughness, and-resiliency characteristic of vulcanas employed in the making of I able; to stand up undzasudden shocks or -.which may strains? It is also poin out that by using a skeleton O1' open truss frame construction be utilized alone or embedded as shaftswith or-without the head to described, e

of the molded plastic fibrous matebe formed rial may -be.made of considerable is possible with metal tubing, especially tapered steel tubing which is employed in mak- 7 ing golf shafts. s

It is also to be understood that the celoroncondensite-or other plastic fibrous material V may be produced in tubular or solid form as shall befound desirable, while the framing or trussconstructi'on may be greatly varied as will be readily evident from the detailed description which follows, although it is tobe understood that this description is merely illustrative of the principles i volved. I

' Referring to the drawings i detail and particularly to Fig. 1, there is shown ashaft 19' of such plastic material as celoron-condensite tapering from'its grippin portion 20 to the shank portion 21, This shaft may be of tubular form as indicated'at 22 and joined to or "formed with a head 23, the attachment of the separate head as is common in the art being optional to the integral formation of the head the'rewith; as illustrated. In either event, the shank 21 may be reinforced with a separate reinforcement rod or core 24, whether the shank be of solid or hollow formation, such reinforcement being of metal or other material which is tough, 95. flexible, or pliable and 'of high tensile strength. For this purpose rawhide or cowhide may be used. As is shown in Fig, 1, the ends may be suitably anchored in the plastic material or embedded therein during the formation of the shaft, as'by forming shoulders orenlargement 25 and 26 on the ends of the reinforcement or core about which the plastic material is formed or fitted in openings or recesses 27 and 28 provided for vthis 10l purpose. The gripping portion 20 may be finished to suit the desires of different players in that it may be made with a roughened surface or finished off smooth and polished or wrapped with a suitable covering of leather or other material such as commonly Qusedat the present time, In either case it may be desirable to form an enlargement or shoulder in the form ofan annular bead or rib 29 at the upper end and asimilarbead or rib 30 1 1i spaced therefrom'at the lower limit or end of the gripping 'portionand also to prevent the club from slippingfoutof; the hands of the player.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig; 1a 2, the molded plastic-body, material of Bakelite, ,especially combined with fiber, {celordncondensite, or similar material is reinforced with a skeleton-or truss frame 31,.preferably comprising two or more openly spaced longi- I tudinals 32 or wire or'stri'ps of higher tensile strength, such as steel',duralumi num, or the like, connected at spaced points along their greater strength and flexibility and with the" esired lengths by transverse wire or strips forming struts or. 33'to cause thelongitudinals isziaei act together. These are embedded in the plastic material, the spacing and number of the struts and longitudinals depending on the stiffness orflexibility desired for different clubs. For instance, the truss frame for irons or similar clubs will be, relatively stiff and those for what are ordinarily known as wooden clubs, such as drivers, brassies, and spoons, being relatively flexible. The truss may taper toward the shank like the shaft, the longitudinals in-this instance converging toward the shank 34 and head 35, which latter may be separate and of plastic material or wood, or integral as shown, where the head is formed integral with the shaft and shank of plastic' fibrous material. The reinforcing frame or truss especially the longitudinals 32,

may extend into the neck and body of the head as shown in 36, this producing a monoa the point where the lithic construction, .Also, a' core or rod 37 of wire or other material may be provided to reinforce the shank or neck and head and theends bent'or turned over as at 38 to prevent slip or shifting of the body thereon or relative movement and secure effective bracing at flexibility are required.

Furthermore, in tubular shafts a central reinforce or core'39 may "be provided secured or joined to the inner walL' In order to keep within the range of weight allowed for the I shafts, this core may be made of some lightweight and tough material which-will perbe wound from a strip f'mit' thenecessary pliability or flexing, such as rawhide. In view'of the fact that there are some weight limitations in golf shaft construction, the average shaft weighing between six and seven ounces, the tapered shaft ofhollow or tubular construction with the void or hollow center extending throughout the length of the shaft or down into the shank if desired, will keep the weight within the range allowed? Of course, the weight-may be varied according to the desires of different players and the core may extend down to the shank which from thereon can be solid as shown in Fig. 2 or made to contain a, core of lighter material where'weight permits as shown in Fig. 1. The core of rawhide may solid piece shaped to-fit.

In theconstruction shown in Figs. 3 and v 8 the shaft is similarly provided with longi-y tudinals 40 connected by transverse struts or ties 41 which are slit at, two points as'indicated at 42 andthe intermediate portions offset from the side portions to'receive the longitudinals between such portions and through the'slits, supplemented by securing the same-to the struts by welding,-brazing, soldering, or. otherwise, at the points of contact in the same .manner'that the struts '33 are connected to the longitudinals 32. The golf shaft in this instance may be provided withtapered ribs 43 in alignment with the greatest strength and or produced from av annular beads or ribs 53 and 54 at the upper form the core 45 is shown of solid or onepiece construction.

In the form shown in Fig. 4 the shaft 19 may be constructed with the ribs and truss reinforceinent and 'either'of tubular or solid formation and simply provided with the spiral windings or reinforcements 46 corresponding to the'windings 4A. In Fig. (l the shaft 19'is of tubular formation and has a tubular core 47 reinforced by wrapping or windings 48 of spiral or other formation,

which may be extended over the ends of pins 49, arranged at right angles to each other at suitably spaced points, the wires being anchored to these transverse pins or struts atthe points of contact, if desiredn As means for preventing the tubular core 4'3 from shifting relative to the tubular body. of the shaft 19, one, such as the shaft, may be provided with annular ribs 50'extendinginwardly to engage corresponding annular grooves 51 of the tubular core 47. 'This locks the two parts together and causes them to act as'one when ,flexing or bending in use. It is, ofcourse,

understood that the wall of the tapered tubushaft may beof uniform cross-section as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 6, or may taper in cross-sectionas shown in Fig. 7 in which instance the Wall preferably increases in thickness toward the shank, where the greatest strength is required.

In Fig. 5 of the drawings the truss con-- struction 31 is shown having the longitudinals 32 and the struts or ties 33 connecting the longitudinals, and, if desired, instead of embedding or encasing this truss frame'in the plastic material, it may be left open, in

which instance wind resistance in the swmg' of the club is considerably reduced. However, the gripping portion is tubular as indi, cated at 52 and may be providedwith the and lower ends thereof, while the handle portion may be wrapped in the customary manner, was shown. In thisfigure'thehead- 55 is shown separate and may be of wood orplastic materlal reinforced with fiber, the

truss frame 31 extending into the head through the neck portion 56 thereof and preferably reinforced with a tube 57 at thesha-nk and neck in order to more securely anchor the lowerend of the frame'in the head and effectively tie the longitudinals together. This tube may be slit'as indicated at 58 to provide anchoring means for the longitudinals or means whereby they can be connected" 1 to the tube supplemented by spot-welding or the like as described in connection with the struts 41 in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

In Fig. 9- of the drawings the construction is the same as that shown in Fig. 6 except that the plastic body 19 is shown with the incorporated fiber or celoron-condensite with a vulcanized woven fabric base incorporated "with the bakelite or plastic mass. In,addi tion, this tubular shaft or bodymay-be reinforced by two or more longitudinals 59, pref-.

erablyfour innumber as shown, and the 1 spiral or helical windings may be eliminated.

In Fig. 10. the constructioniis the same as shown in Fig. 2 except that the struts or ties are constructed as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

In Fig. 11 the shaft is shown reinforced with flat strips which may be arranged radially or which may be of T-shaped cross- :ection having the head portions 61 arranged at right angles to the strips 60, conforming to and exposed on the outer surface of the shaft. In this form the tubular shaft or body is reinforced with a plurality of concentric cores 62 of rawhide or other light-weight and tough material which, although naturally pliable or flexible, may be stiffened as desired, in, the same manner as the parts 24, 39,

'45, and 47. In Fig. 12 the tubular shaft is to the longitudinals and serve thepurpose of struts.

In Fig. 14 the same construction is illus-- trated as in Fig. 13,.except that the tubular shaft body has one or more windings 67'of textile fabric therein, such winding being arranged underneath, or over the wire reinforcement or extended throughout the plastic both.

embedded body and acting as ties and truss-- ing between the major longitudinal reinforce,

-ment. This may be incorporated with either the longitudinals or the spiral windings, or

- In Fig. .15 a shaft 68'of streamline crosssection is shown'having' a blunt or rounde front edge 69 and a tapered rear edge 70 re in'forced by lonigxtudinals 71 and 7 2 connected by struts 7 nals or wires are preferably provided at the front or-tension side of the shaft to give the a desired tensile strength and flexibility in conjunction with the compressive strength of the mastic or plastic body. The forms described, of course, have the shafts tapered down to construction is thesame as 'pluralitv of the longitudiform the shank in the usual way. onstruc tions of oppositely tapered formation are shown in Figs. instance being designated at 74. In Fig. 16

longitudinals 75 and 76 are provided connected by strips or struts 77 extending across the central opening, t'udinals are shown connected by struts or ties 78 quite similar in pl an view to the cross-section of the shaft.

Fig. 18 indicates a structure similar to that 16 and 17, the shaft in this while in" Fig. 17 the longishown in Fig. 5 as'employed for producing". i the shaft or truss reinforcement for the plastic body and for connecting the shaft to the head, except that in is supplemented with a ferrule 79 secured to ofvthe head in which theshank end of the open reinforcement or truss frame is anchored, the same as described in connection with Fig. 5.

A golf club or shaft constructed as above described willgive greater, tensional and compressive strength and may be constructed with minute variations in torsional strength} flexibility so as to give the or to and stiffness or required whip where this is desired, give the required twist considered essential especially with such clubs as drivers. This is true in either the molded material, the

metal shafts', -o'r the shafts of molded plastic fibrous material reinforced with the open or truss frames or embedded high tensile steel wire or strips. The molded material being waterproof, it will not warp from climatic conditions especially where Bakelite or preferably a combination .of Bakelitewith fiber or textile base known as celoron-condensite, a product of phenol or formaldehyde is used.

The steel wires or strips may have a tensile strength up to above 200,000. pounds per uare inch, but where desired on account 0 weight limitations, duraluminum or other high tensile strength aluminum alloy wires or strips may be employed or some non-metallic reinforcing material of sufficient tensile strength, such as rawhidejstrips which produce alight-weight tenacious-core. Owing to the longitudinals being connected,'the strains are transmitted to all of them and this applies where they are encased'in the.

embedding material. Where the longitudinal ribs or ridges are providedon the shaft, the longitudinal reinforcements may extend into these ribs, thus spacing the longitudinals from the center of the shaft as possible.

While I have shown and described my invention in a preferred form,'I am aware that various modifications'and changes may. be made" therein without departingfrom the principles of the invention, Pthescope. of which maybe determinedby reference to the appended claims. 1

this instance the tube 57 the tube and extending over the neck portion "ii-.0 further vapart and developing maximum strength by reason of spacing themas far,

I claim as my invention:

1. In a golf club, a tubular plastic shaft of tapered formation, a reinforcing frame in the shaft and a head on the shaft, the reinforcements on the hitting front or tensile side being greater than on the opposite side.

2. A club shaft formed of plastic material of stream-line cross section and metallic reinforcements running longitudinally thereof the. reinforcements on the hitting front or tensile side being greater than that on the opposite side.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a club or like shaft formed of plastic material and having spaced metallic longitudinals embedded therein forming reinforcements, the

reinforcements on the front side being greater than on the rear side.

4. In a golf club, a shaft composed of longitudinal metal reinforcements encased in therein, the molded plastic material of the shaft being tubular for the major portion of its length and solid for a portion of its length adjacent its end of smaller outside diameter, said solid portion being of material length and extending from the tubular 'portion to the head.

7. A shaft as defined in claim 4 in combina tionwith an integral molded head, the reenforeements of said shaft extending into and reenforcing said head.

ROY H. ROBINSON. 

